4 Indulgent Summer DIY Ideas for Nourished & Hydrated Skin

You deserve to have stellar skin all summer long — and you don’t have to stay inside to protect it. Nature gives us the botanicals we need to rejuvenate the skin at its deepest layers, reversing damage caused by free radicals, sun exposure, and even simple neglect. We’re sharing simple recipes to help you soften, revitalize, moisturize, and protect your skin for the long sunny days ahead.

We love this hands-on approach for several reasons:

• You know exactly what’s in your products. Avoid unhealthy synthetic chemicals and phthalates from fake fragrances, and know you’re using only the healthiest, most ethical natural botanicals.
• You can tailor your recipes to your skin’s needs. Let’s be honest — not all lotions, serums, oils, and skincare work for everyone. We’re all different and have a range of skin needs.
• With raw ingredients, you can create different types of healthcare products for your entire body — from the strands of your hair to the tips of your toes.
• Plus, it’s fun to create your own, healthy, nourishing skincare! It raises your intuition about your own body and brings you closer to the process of caring for your health, naturally.

So, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite DIYs for healthy, beautiful, protected skin all summer long.

Soften Your Skin

We always recommend a good sunscreen when you’re outside, to keep your skin protected from damaging UV rays. But when you’re done in the sun, it’s wise to clean your skin from the pore-clogging heaviness of many sunscreens.

We recommend this delicious, skin-softening sugar scrub. It removes environmental debris, including heavy sunscreen and sweat, and exfoliates and polishes the skin, leaving it soft and smooth.

Recipe:

• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup raw sugar
• 4 tablespoons of Argan Carrier Oil
• 2 tablespoons of Jojoba Carrier Oil
• 10-15 total drops of essential oil.

Mix your oils first, blending the essential oils with your carrier oils. We recommend an essential oil combination of Lemon Essential Oil, Grapefruit Essential Oil, Sweet Orange Essential Oil, and Bergamot Essential Oil for a delicious, tantalizing blend of sweet, summery citrus. Add your sugars next and mix until they are moist. The coarse raw sugar will exfoliate, removing dead skin cells and dirt, while the brown sugar gently polishes your skin, leaving it soft and supple to the touch.

Revitalize Your Skin

Summer is sandal weather. And let’s be honest — after being stuck inside all winter, our feet probably haven’t seen much love...

This incredible foot scrub features common household ingredients, you can make this rejuvenating foot scrub to slough off dead skin, detox, and moisturize, for a self-pampering ideal for summer.

Recipe:

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup epsom salt
• ½ cup baking soda
• ½ cup avocado or coconut oil

Essential oils: 15 drops Blue Chamomile Essential Oil, 10 drops Lemongrass Essential Oil, 5 drops Lavender Bulgaria Essential Oil.

Combine your sugar, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and stir well. In a separate bowl, add your essential oils to the carrier oil. Then combine the dry ingredients with the oil. Mix well.

To use: Soak feet in hot water for 10 minutes or use after a bath or shower. Then massage the scrub into heels and rough spots on the feet. The grittiness will polish the skin, while the oil moisturizes tough skin. Rinse well, and pat dry. The oil can make feet slippery, so be careful walking afterward. Donning a pair of socks can help, and lets your skin absorb the oils for even softer results. Try this right before bed for full absorption while you sleep!

And there you have it — sandal-ready feet!

Moisturize Your Skin

Smooth, hydrated, healthy skin is the best thing you can wear in the summer. And you can always get a nourishing, luxurious body serum or cream to protect, hydrate, and strengthen your skin.

And of course, we have a few of our favorites:

Organic Azul Beauty Body Serum is an enchanting all-over body serum for skin health and revitalization. Blue tansy, cacao, neroli, frankincense, and vanilla are layered over nourishing jojoba oil for a luscious, fragrant experience.

Organic Golden Beauty Body Crème is nutrition for your skin, with nurturing plant butters, flowers, roots, herbs, and essential oils for repair and radiance.

But, if you want to create your own nourishing body moisturizer, we suggest a luscious carrier oil combined with your favorite skin-enhancing essential oils.

Recipe:

For every ounce of carrier oil (try Argan Oil or Flower of the Sun Essential Oil Blend) add 8-12 drops of essential oil. (Less for sensitive skin or children)

Protect Your Skin

To protect your exposed feet, try a gentle oil rub on your nails and toes. This simple mix of carrier oil and tea tree oil is a luxurious way to protect your feet from germs that can make their way into open-toed shoes.

Recipe:

• 2 ounces of Jojoba Carrier Oil
• 7 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil
• 4 drops Lemon Essential Oil

Bonus: Lustrous Locks Spritz

Summer can be tough on hair, too, with wind, sweat, beach salt, and dryness from the sun and salty air.

To give your locks a boost of shine and luster, try this luxurious hair mask to restore moisture, smooth the hair shaft, prevent split ends, promote follicle growth, and add shine to your summer hair. Repeat every other week to maintain hair health and strength.

Recipe:

• 1 ounce of Argan Oil
• 1 ounce water
• 3 drops of Blue Chamomile Essential Oil
• 2 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil
• 2 drops of Rosemary Essential Oil, Verbenone
• 2 drops of Tea Tree Essential Oil, Australian

Add to a spray bottle and spritz when needed!

Recommended Carrier Oils:

This Organic Argan Oil is quick-absorbing and lightweight, making it perfect for summer. And, as a bonus, argan oil is amazing for hair, too. After body application, when you still have some on your hands, smooth down flyaways, or run your fingers through the ends of your hair for hydration and protection against the heat and UV rays of the sun.

Flower of the Sun Essential Oil Blend makes a wonderful base for face and body moisture. Rosehip seed oil combines with helichrysum, also known as Immortelle, to restore strength and vitality to undernourished, neglected, or damaged skin.

To make your own body moisturizer, select one of these nourishing oils, and add essential oils for a signature scent, or personalized medicine for the skin and spirit.

Recommended Essential Oils:

A few of our favorite essential oils for DIY skincare are:

Rose Geranium Essential Oil: This heavenly-scented essential oil is perfect for any skin type. It balances dry and oily skin, keeping the skin soft and supple, and offering its gorgeous, complex bouquet to calm the spirit too.

Lavender: Known for its flowery herbaceous scent and its wondrous skin healing properties, including anti-inflammation, lavender is forever a skincare favorite. Lavender Bulgaria Essential Oil calms the skin and mind while restoring luster. Lavender Kashmir Essential Oil is known for its cooling properties to overheated bodies. Its sweet scent is calming and soothes agitation. These lavenders can settle irritated skin, even out tone, and relieve redness. Blue Chamomile Essential Oil: Derived from chamomile petals cultivated in Nepal, its aromatic profile is as lovely as it sounds. Chamomile has soothing properties for after sun exposure, making it an ideal oil for summer. These fragrant treasures can also be combined for an aromatic, healing indulgence.

You can stay up-to-date on botanical information, and recipes, and learn how to incorporate essential oils into your everyday life by following our blogs at Floracopeia, but you can also schedule a consultation with David Crow, an expert in natural medicine, to get more personalized advice and deeper insights that can't be provided by our blog posts.